Abnormal Psychology: An OER Course Guide: Abnormal Psychology

Purpose of this Course Guide/Textbook

This course guide is intended to be used as an open educational resource to replace or supplement traditional course materials for undergraduate abnormal psychology courses. It can be considered a textbook, or a resource that will replace a traditional textbook.

Modules

The goal of each module is to meet the Course Guide and Module Learning Objectives and answer the Guiding Questions included in the Explore section of each module. Students may use any or all of the resources provided to find the needed information and further explore interesting topics, and therefore tailor learning to best fit favored learning behaviors. 

A list of Learning Objectives and Guiding Questions is included with each module. To make the best use of this guide, students should review any or all resources available in order to answer the guiding questions thoroughly and meet the learning objectives for the module. It is up to the individual instructor whether these Guiding Questions become a graded assignment, but they are the core of each module that offers direction for learning. 

Each module is divided into five resource sections:

1. Explore - A starting point for module study. Learning objectives and guiding questions included to guide study of the material. Students: review the learning objectives and Guiding Questions first, consider printing a copy or making a copy to type into, and then move forward into the resources.
2. Read - Web-based text formatted resources
3. View - Web-based video resources
4. Listen - Web-based audio resources
5. Engage - Links to a variety of resources to further engage with the topic
6. Instructor Notes - Information and resource for instructors using this resource and/or module. Should be deleted or hidden from students if this resource is copied and adopted for use.

Course Guide Learning Objectives

By the end of this course guide, students should be able to:

1. Define and identify abnormal behavior and recommend at least one method to decrease mental health stigma.
2. Discuss the treatment process, including intake, diagnosis, treatment planning, and treatment progression.
3. Identify and discuss mental health assessment and the techniques used.
4. Summarize the key concepts of the theoretical orientations in abnormal psychology.
5. Apply DSM5 diagnostic criteria to analyze symptoms and identify mental illnesses.
6. Explain ethical and legal considerations related to abnormal psychology.

Module objectives are included with each module to identify knowledge gained toward course guide objectives.